Impact-Compensating Helmet Reinforcement System

ABSTRACT

A neck support for a sport player, includes a fabric treated with a dilatant material, the fabric sized and shaped to be deployed about the player&#39;s neck to be supported by the player&#39;s shoulders and to be supportive of the player&#39;s head. The fabric can be disposed within a neck collar, the neck collar disposed between a helmet worn by the player and the player&#39;s shoulders. The collar can include a first component connected to a player&#39;s helmet; a second component connected to a player&#39;s torso; a ball bearing assembly interposed between the first and second component; and dilatant material arranged between the first component and the ball bearing assembly or between the second component and the ball bearing assembly.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/427,628, filed Nov. 29, 2016 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/448,572, filed Jan. 20, 2017.

BACKGROUND

Football contact injuries to the head and neck have resulted in concussions and spinal damage to players, as well as a negative perception of, and reduced participation in, American football.

In the National Football League of the United States, players suffered 271 concussions in the year 2015, more than in each of the previous four years. Many former players are likely to suffer brain damage later in life. This is causing parents to prevent their children from participating in American-style football.

It has been heretofore known to provide helmets and collar protective wear for football players. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,497,872; 6,058,517; 9,119,433; 9,032,558; 8,621,672; and US published patent applications 2016/0044984; 2016/0044982; 2016/0037852; 2015/0327619; 2015/0327618; 2015/0216249; 2014/0359924; 2014/0081180; 2013/0232667; 2012/0297526; 2012/0278980 all disclose head and/or neck protective wear, and all are herein incorporated by reference to the extent that the disclosures are not inconsistent with the present application.

In addition to American football, international football or soccer poses a similar risk of concussion and head/neck injuries. The potential for these injuries is present for person-to-person collisions as well as ball-to-head collisions which occur during the “heading” of the football or soccer ball.

Many impact-limiting collars for football players have been proposed. These collars can have different shapes to mitigate the various aspects of cranial impact such as side-impact or head-on impact. None of these collars have proven sufficiently effective to be universally adopted. Some of these collars limit head motion, are awkward to wear, or are difficult to suit all player body types. These collars are also likely to be uncomfortable to wear in warmer locations.

The present inventor has recognized that it would be desirable to provide a neck and head protective collar or similar brace that was normally flexible for active movements by a player during active sports but provides an effective bracing during an impact to the player to protect the neck and/or the brain of the player.

SUMMARY

The exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a neck brace or neck support which, during an impact, will transfer head impact force or reaction force from just the cranium to the entire human frame without impeding normal head motion before and after the impact. The phrase “reaction force” refers to the force on the neck and cranium that results from the torso being directly impacted with the head unsupported. This can occur, for example, when an airborne player is struck in the torso and the neck and head experience “whiplash.” The exemplary embodiment utilizes a flexible dilatant neck brace wherein stiffness changes in proportion to the force of the cranial impact or reaction force. The neck brace distributes head impact or reaction force over the entire body, instead of relying solely on the neck muscles to compensate for and accommodate the impact or reaction force.

Under normal conditions, the brace flexibility would not hinder head motion any more than a heavy neck scarf. However, due to the composition of the neck brace, the brace would become rigid immediately upon either side or head-on impact, distributing the force over the entire torso, not just the head. The hardening process happens in mere milliseconds. After impact, the brace becomes flexible again.

As illustrative, with respect to body armor, a particle filled fluid, as a dilatant or shear thickening fluid, is diluted in ethanol. The particle filled fluid is then saturated into the KEVLAR fabric, and then placed in an oven to evaporate the ethanol. The shear thickening fluid permeates the KEVLAR and the KEVLAR strands hold the shear thickening fluid in place. Impact causes the fluid to harden, making the KEVLAR four times stronger. After impact, the armor becomes flexible again.

The exemplary embodiment comprises a neck brace with a higher ratio dilatant fluid-to-fabric filler in an impervious and flexible outer coating or layer. The higher ratio would improve brace-to-neck conformity, allowing the brace to naturally fill in the gap the lower element extremities and the shoulder pads.

The human head is only 8% of total body mass, and therefore vulnerable when impacted by an opponent's entire body mass. According to Newton's second law, force equals mass times acceleration (F=MA), therefore acceleration equals force divided by mass, which means the higher the mass, the smaller the acceleration. Thus, coupling the head mass with the torso mass reduces acceleration experienced by the skull during impact. The exemplary embodiments provide a neck brace capable of distributing head impact across the entire body, so as to reduce the head's acceleration and concomitant concussive effects by up to a factor of eight, the ratio of head mass to body mass.

Without neck and head support, a cranial impact or reaction force causes rapid motion of the brain with respect to the skull. The brain literally rattles and suffers damage due to impact within the cranial cavity. The head is only linked to the torso by a neck muscle strength which, especially during unexpected and sudden impacts, has little time to react. However, according to the exemplary embodiment of the invention, virtually instantaneously, the dilatant fluid within the neck brace becomes rigid, in whatever attitude the player may be, preventing the head from moving independently from the rest of the body.

Additionally, spinal injuries can be reduced by the dilatant neck brace of the invention. By encompassing the entire neck area between the helmet and jaw line, and the shoulder pads, only minimal spinal compression may take place before the brace stiffens up and transfers the load to the rest of the body.

Dilatant fluids, also known as shear thickening fluids, are liquids or solutions wherein viscosity increases as stress is applied. The dilatant fluids are non-Newtonian fluids, as they do not have a linear shear stress versus shear rate which is unique to Newtonian fluids.

The dilatant fluid is a colloid, having tiny particles suspended in a liquid. The particles repel each other slightly. They float easily throughout the liquid without clumping together. The energy of the sudden impact overwhelms the repulsive forces. The particles stick together in masses called hypo-clusters. After impact, the particles begin to repel one another again, and the clusters fall apart. The apparently solid substance then reverts back to a liquid.

Some dilatant fluids are disclosed for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,342,049; 6,946,138; 8,856,971; and 8,105,184, herein incorporated by reference to the extent that these disclosures are not inconsistent with the present disclosure.

The embodiment of the present invention provides a neck brace or collar that stiffens under impact or reaction force and transfers the impact load to the player's entire body through the shoulders. The neck brace conforms to a player's shoulder/helmet contours. The neck brace transfers helmet load to the shoulders. It does not restrict normal, relatively slow movements. The collar can be released between plays, which is particularly useful in warm weather, as the collar may prevent heat dissipation around the wearer's neck and head area. A mouth guard could be strapped to or incorporated with the collar wherein the mouth guard and the neck brace can be re-positioned together upon the re-commencement of action on the field.

The exemplary embodiment includes an impermeable polymer sleeve filled with dilatant fluid and fabric. This sleeve naturally conforms to the gap between the helmet and shoulder pads and allows normal functional motion, but that stiffens exponentially to speeds of impact.

An alternate embodiment is disclosed wherein the neck brace and shoulder pads are engaged as a unit. An integrated Helmet-Neck roll-Shoulder pad system is provided that includes an upper neck roll attached to the helmet and a lower neck roll attached to the should pads. Each neck roll is composite with helmet- and shoulder pad-adjacent component being rigid open vented composite for light weight and neck area ventilation. The neck roll adjacent component is shear-stiffening component. A ball bearing race is sandwiched between the two adjacent neck rolls. The plastic balls are strung and spaced on a wire frame. The balls are pressed into the two adjacent shear stiffening components.

The head is protected from both lateral and head-on impact. The bearings permit rotational neck motion. The balls are pressed lightly into the shear-stiffening neck roll material. Normal speed motion offers little resistance to the motion. High impact twist hardens the neck roll and prevents inadvertent twisting motion

Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will beanie readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a neck brace embodiment of the invention associated with a player wearing a football helmet;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a basic embodiment of the neck brace separate from the football helmet;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a basic embodiment of the neck brace separate from the football helmet;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along lines 4-4 from FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an alternate embodiment taken generally along lines 4-4 from FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the speed of impact and the neck brace stiffness for the exemplary embodiment neck brace of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram demonstrating the effectiveness of the exemplary embodiment neck brace of the invention during a side impact;

FIG. 8 is a diagram demonstrating the effectiveness of the exemplary embodiment neck brace of the invention during a head-on impact;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic elevation view of a further embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic side view of the further embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a rear view of an alternate embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic fragmentary enlarged view taken from FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view of a portion of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along line 14-14 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken generally along line 15-15 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of the system of FIG. 11, showing an at rest condition;

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the system of FIG. 11, showing the swivel action of the system;

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of the system of FIG. 11 showing some of the collar undergoing separation of the neck roll; and

FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing some of the neck collar being under compression.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings, and will be described herein in detail, specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.

This application incorporates by reference U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/427,628, filed Nov. 29, 2016 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/448,572, filed Jan. 20, 2017.

FIG. 1 illustrates a football player wearing a helmet 10 and shoulder pads 12 (under a jersey). Located between the helmet 10 and shoulder pads 12 is a neck collar 16 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The neck collar 16 is connected by a first strap 20 and a first snap assembly 22 to a first vertical facemask bar 27 of the helmet 10 at one end, and connected by a second strap 28 and a second snap assembly 29 to a second vertical facemask bar 30 of the helmet at the opposite end of the neck collar. Alternatively, the neck collar can be wrapped around the player's neck and snap-connected at its free ends together to surround and capture the player's neck, located vertically between the helmet and shoulder pads.

FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified collar 16 having a cylindrical shape and having free ends 16 a, 16 b. The first strap 20 is sewed or otherwise connected to the free end 16 a while the second strap 28 is sewed or otherwise connected to the free end 16 b. The first snap assembly 22 comprises a male snap element and a female snap element. The second snap assembly 29 comprises a male snap element and a female snap element. Although snap elements are shown and described, other connecting arrangements, such as hook and loop fastener portions could alternately be used. A fitted mouth guard 34 has a tether 34 a that can be attached to a ring 35 connected by sewing of other means to the collar 16. Alternately the mouth guard could be connected by other means or not connected to the collar.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternate embodiment collar 50. According to this embodiment, the free ends 16 a, 16 b of the collar are connected together instead of to the helmet cage. This collar includes a connecting strap 56 sewn or otherwise connected to the free end 16 a of the collar 50. The strap 56 includes a connecting portion 60 that connects to a second connecting portion 66 on the opposite free end 16 b. The connecting portions can be co-acting snaps, a hook and loop fastening pair, or other known fastening configuration.

Certain fluids exist whose viscosity increases exponentially with the applied rate of shear. These are known as shear thickening fluids or dilatant fluids. Flexible body armor is one example of the use of dilatant fluid properties, whereby a normally flexible fabric is treated with a dilatant fluid and becomes rigid upon being impacted by a bullet. Body armor consists of KEVLAR treated with polyethylene glycol that is diluted with ethanol in order to disperse the polyethylene glycol over the KEVLAR fabric. The stiffening effect of the dilatant treatment increases bullet resistance by a factor of four.

The KEVLAR and polyethylene glycol mixture can be used in the collar of the present invention. Some other dilatant fluids are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,342,049; 6,946,138; 8,856,971; and 8,105,184, herein incorporated by reference to the extent that these disclosures are not inconsistent with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the collar of FIG. 3. The collar is formed with an outer impermeable polymer sleeve 70 surrounding and enclosing a fill 76 of fabric treated with a dilatant solution or fluid. The collar 16 of FIG. 1 would likewise be formed with an outer impermeable polymer sleeve surrounding and enclosing a fill of fabric treated with a dilatant solution or fluid.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an alternate embodiment wherein the outer shape is circular or oval. The collar is formed with an outer impermeable polymer sleeve 80 surrounding and enclosing a fill 86 of fabric treated with a dilatant solution or fluid.

FIG. 6 illustrates the effect of a dilatant material on the collar or neck brace stiffness. The stiffness exponentially increases with the speed of impact.

FIG. 7 illustrates the effect of a football player and side impact with and without the collar of the present invention. Without the collar 16, 50, upon sudden impact F on the head, or for a sudden impact to the body relative to the head in the case of a player having body impact when airborne (i.e., neck whiplash), the head is violently moved angularly with respect to the torso, potentially causing neck injury or concussion. In contrast, with the collar 16, 50 in place, the dilatant treated collar stiffens significantly in opposition to the impact F and the impact F is absorbed by the entire torso.

FIG. 8 illustrates the effect of a football player and head-on impact with and without the collar 16, 50 of the present invention. Without the collar 16, 50, upon sudden impact F on the head, the head is violently moved toward the torso, potentially causing neck injury, spine injury or concussion. In contrast, with the collar 16, 50 in place, the dilatant treated collar stiffens significantly in opposition to the impact F and the impact F is absorbed by the entire torso.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate protective equipment in use for a footballer or soccer player as known in the US. The equipment includes a perforated, hard helmet 110 that is connected about its lower rear edge 116 to a perforated neck shroud 120. The neck shroud comprises a fabric treated with or saturated with a dilatant fluid or solution. The perforated neck shroud 120 extends down to rest onto and around the player's shoulders. When such a player receives an impact on the helmet, either a head-on impact or a side-impact, the shroud 120 will immediately stiffen, because of the dilatant treatment, to transfer a significant part of the load from head to the shoulders and the rest of the player's body. The effect of the impact with or without the shroud is demonstrated by FIGS. 7 and 8.

An alternate embodiment is disclosed in FIGS. 11-19, wherein a neck collar, a helmet and shoulder pads are combined into an integrated system 200. The integrated helmet-neck roll-shoulder pad system 200 includes an upper neck roll 206 attached to a helmet 210 and a lower neck roll 216 is attached to shoulder pads 220. Each neck roll is a composite with helmet- and shoulder pad-adjacent support components 222, 226 respectively being rigid, open-vented composites for reduced weight and neck area ventilation. The neck roll-adjacent, joint components 232, 236 respectively include a shear-stiffening component 238, 240. The shear stiffening component can be a fill 241 of fabric treated with a dilatant solution or fluid enclosed by an outer impermeable polymer sleeve 243.

A ball bearing assembly 242 is sandwiched between the two adjacent joint components 232, 236. The ball bearing assembly 242 includes balls 246, such as plastic balls, strung and spaced on a wire frame 248. The balls 246 are pressed into the two adjacent shear stiffening components 238, 240.

The head is protected from both lateral and head-on impact. The balls 246 permit rotational head motion by relative rotation of the joint components 232, 236. The balls 246 are pressed lightly into the shear-stiffening components 238, 240. For the joint components to relatively rotate, at least one of the components 238, 240 must deform or compress sufficiently, upward (component 238) or downward (component 240) to allow the balls to relatively pass through the moving component 238, 240. Normal speed motion such as head turning or tilting motion offers little resistance to the motion. However, high impact causing a rapid twisting, hardens the neck roll components 238, 240 and prevents undesired rapid twisting motion, relative rotation, of the joint components 232, 236, and thus prevents undesired rapid twisting motion of the head with respect to the torso of the player.

As shown in FIGS. 13-15, the balls 246 are carried by the wire frame 248. The wire frame 246 includes concentric circular track wires 254, 258 and axle wires 262, connected at opposite ends to the respective track wires 254, 258 and journaled by a through hole 266 through each ball 246. The balls 246 can rotate on the axle wires 262.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show schematically the rotational sliding movement of the components 232, 236 by way of the ball bearing assembly 242. In FIG. 16 the location point “A” in the joint component 232 is shown aligned with the location point “B” in the joint component 236. The balls 242 deflect and deform the dilatant material 238 as the upper dilatant material moves over the rotating balls. FIG. 17 shows the location point “A” rotated from its initial position to be no longer aligned with the location point “B.” During normal activity this rotation can occur easily so as not to hinder the maneuverability of the player. During a rapid twisting caused by impact however, the dilatant material 238, 240 resists deformation and causes stiff resistance of the material 238 passing over the balls, and thus resists this rotation.

FIG. 18 shows the separating movement of the components 232, 236 caused by head tilting, such as would occur during non-impact player maneuvering. FIG. 19 shows the compression of the components 232, 236 toward each other during an impact to the top of the head, or a compression on one side of the components 232, 236 caused by an impact that rapidly tilts the head with respect to the torso. The neck roll dilatant material components 238, 240 harden and prevent undesired rapid compression movement of the joint components 232, 236, on one or both sides of the neck, and thus prevents undesired rapid tilting of the head relative to the torso or compression of the neck to the torso due to a head on collision.

Although the dilatant filled collars 16, 50, or shear-stiffening components 238, 240 are described above as including a an outer impermeable polymer sleeve containing a fill of fabric treated with a dilatant solution or fluid, the collars 16, 50 or shear-stiffening components 238, 240 could also be composed of an outer casing or sleeve containing a shear-stiffening fluid, without the fill of fabric within the casing or sleeve.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. 

I claim as my invention:
 1. A neck support for a sport player, comprising: a fabric treated with a dilatant material, the fabric sized and shaped to be deployed about the player's neck to be supported by the player's shoulders and to be supportive of the player's head.
 2. The neck support according to claim 1, wherein the fabric is disposed within a neck collar, the neck collar disposed between a helmet worn by the player and the player's shoulders.
 3. The neck support according to claim 1, wherein the fabric is shaped as a shroud.
 4. The neck support according to claim 3, wherein the shroud is connected to a helmet worn by the player.
 5. The neck support according to claim 1, wherein the dilatant material comprises a cornstarch solution.
 6. The neck support according to claim 1, wherein the dilatant material comprises KEVLAR treated with polyethylene glycol.
 7. A neck support for a sport player, comprising: a first component connected to a player's helmet; a second component connected to a player's torso; a ball bearing assembly interposed between the first and second component; and dilatant material arranged between the first component and the ball bearing assembly or between the second component and the ball bearing assembly.
 8. The neck support according to claim 7, wherein dilatant material is arranged between the first component and the ball bearing assembly and between the second component and the ball bearing assembly.
 9. The neck support according to claim 8, wherein the dilatant material is a dilatant treated fill enclosed by a fabric.
 10. The neck support according to claim 8, wherein the dilatant material comprises a cornstarch solution.
 11. The neck support according to claim 8, wherein the dilatant material comprises KEVLAR treated with polyethylene glycol.
 12. The neck support according to claim 7, wherein the bearing assembly comprises a plurality of ball bearings arranged spaced apart in a circular path and guided for individual rotation by a wire frame that carries axle portions that are journaled by though holes in each ball.
 13. The neck support according to claim 7, wherein the first component is a rigid open vented composite for reduced weight and neck area ventilation. 